quarter staff + 3 (staff of striking) or staff spear +2?

Ruscoe

which one is the meanest? i don't get all this 1d8+2 and 1d6+9 malarkey

Lord_Tansheron

1dX means the damage is rolled on 1 die with X sides (i.e. it's randomly chosen from 1-X). The + is then added as a static bonus. 1d8+2 thus means 3-10 damage. The other one would be 1d6+9, or 10-15. If you want the average damage, add both ends and divide by two: (3 + 10) / 2 = 13/2 = 6.5 average damage for example.

Keep in mind though that Staff of Striking has limited charges; each attack consumes a charge, and when they're gone, the item becomes useless. It's a fairly unique ability, though, no other weapon works like that.

Ruscoe

Lord_Tansheron said:

1dX means the damage is rolled on 1 die with X sides (i.e. it's randomly chosen from 1-X). The + is then added as a static bonus. 1d8+2 thus means 3-10 damage. The other one would be 1d6+9, or 10-15. If you want the average damage, add both ends and divide by two: (3 + 10) / 2 = 13/2 = 6.5 average damage for example.

Keep in mind though that Staff of Striking has limited charges; each attack consumes a charge, and when they're gone, the item becomes useless. It's a fairly unique ability, though, no other weapon works like that.

so what your saying is staff of striking has a use once per day kinda thing? so better keep both?

Lateralus

Ruscoe said:

which one is the meanest? i don't get all this 1d8+2 and 1d6+9 malarkey

My cleric/theif is all about the +4 staff that you failed to mention. He needs to make sure he hits, and the minimum damage is good.

Lord_Tansheron

Ruscoe said:

so what your saying is staff of striking has a use once per day kinda thing? so better keep both?

It's not once per day. It's a limited number of charges - when they're gone, they're gone. There's no way to refill the charges except through cheese, i.e. selling and re-buying over and over since that somehow restores the charges...

Zarakinthish

@Lord_Tansheron
In terms of roleplaying, it isn't really cheese if you sell and re-buy it at a place that specializes in magic, such as Sorcerous Sundries or High Hedge. As it reads in 2nd edition DMG:

This oaken staff is the equivalent of a +3 magical weapon. (If the weapon vs. armor type adjustment is used, the staff of striking is treated as the most favorable weapon type vs. any armor.) It causes 1d6+3 point of damage when a hit is scored. This expends a charge. If two charges ate expended, bonus damage is doubled (1d6+6); if three charges are expended, bonus damage is tripled (1d6+9). No more than three charges can be expended per strike. The staff can be recharged.

Silence

There is also staff +3 in Ulgoth's Beard that you can buy. I prefer it to the staff spear, because 1) it has a better THAC0 bonus and 2) it counts as a bludgeoning weapon (staff spear does not).

Ruscoe

Lord_Tansheron said:

Ruscoe said:

so what your saying is staff of striking has a use once per day kinda thing? so better keep both?

It's not once per day. It's a limited number of charges - when they're gone, they're gone. There's no way to refill the charges except through cheese, i.e. selling and re-buying over and over since that somehow restores the charges...

How am I to know that the staff is out of charges? So if the staff is charged does it make for a better weapon than the spear staff

Madhax

I'm pretty sure the Staff of Striking will actually disappear forever when it's out of charges, so you'll know =P

It's the strongest staff in BG1, but it only exists for a limited time. In general the +3 Cleric Staff is the most accurate and consistent, while the Staff-Spear is good for more damage but less accuracy. I actually swapped between the two on my melee-oriented Dragon Disicple run recently, using the +3 staff against more heavily-armored opponents and the Staff-Spear against mages and the like.

elminster

Ruscoe said:

Lord_Tansheron said:

Ruscoe said:

so what your saying is staff of striking has a use once per day kinda thing? so better keep both?

It's not once per day. It's a limited number of charges - when they're gone, they're gone. There's no way to refill the charges except through cheese, i.e. selling and re-buying over and over since that somehow restores the charges...

How am I to know that the staff is out of charges? So if the staff is charged does it make for a better weapon than the spear staff

Like Madhax stated if its out of charges it will disappear. That said when you have it equipped on your character there will be a small number that you can see in your quick weapon slot (not when you are in your inventory screen though). The number will be in the bottom right-hand corner. That will tell how many charges it has left. When it gets to 1 unequip the item and when you can bring it to a store, sell it to the store, and then buy it back. It should be returned to a full number of charges (25 charges).

Ruscoe

thanks for your help people

enneract

Ruscoe said:

which one is the meanest? i don't get all this 1d8+2 and 1d6+9 malarkey

you are not going to have a good time.

1d8 means a random number between 1 and 8. 2d8 means a random number between 2 and 16.

Mungri

In BG2 you get Staff of the Ram which is a permanent staff of striking with knockback. Its great for a quarterstaff build.

In BG1 I use the staff of striking in a solo run to destroy Aec'letec and Sarevok.